Help on Terminating A Stay

[Ann783]

I have an unhappy guest. Pool was unavailable for use from 4 pm on date of arrival until 12 noon the next day. I was unaware of the problem but had pool person there within 20 minutes of being notified. I offered $200 compensation. 
No response until today (72 hours later). They want pool vacuumed although it is serviced once a week. 
They seem really angry and although I have the pool person going there tomorrow, I’m wondering if it’s best to take the BAD review and have them relocated. It’s a 2 week stay. Appreciate any advice on avoid huge penalties from Airbnb

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

when a guest or tenant starts drama over some minor or easy fixable or even theoretical problem it means they want out of the contract but around the cancelation policy. It's a well-known scheme. I immediately offer to shorten their stay and refund all unused nights and they always immediately agree and move out the same day.

I don't know who is happier when they are gone  - them or me. To get rid of such people It's priceless

[Ann783]

I did offer them the option of shortening their stay and refunding all unused nights @Branka-and-Silvia0  I  have not heard a peep back from them. I think they want more money back as compensation. I'm sticking to my guns as I have proof pool was fixed by 11 am the day after they checked in.

[Leiloni0]

You’re going to get a bad review no matter what you do. I would terminate and have them relocated. 

[Ann783]

I tried three times to get them to relocate @Leiloni0. They refused to cooperate with having the housekeeper do a mid-stay clean, set off my carbon monoxide detector - probably by breaking house rules regarding smoking… It was stressful. I left an honest review of them. Would not host again. They left a great review of the "house" - said nothing about our interaction.

[Nina75]

wow!!

[Nina75]

Most of the comments here are pretty good. Id agree with most of them calling their bluff they are not going to want to leave. These guests are in my opinion laying the groundwork to ask for some cash back after their reservation. You may luck out.

Beware of refund traps, I dont list our Jacuzzi I dont list dishwashers, I dont list our bikes or our surfboards because people will say that they booked it because of XYZ item but XYZ item was not working or was not fully functional so I need money back or a refund. Many times they will do it after their stay. 

[Brian2036]

@Nina75 :

Interesting and excellent advice. I’m going to unlist some of my amenities right now.

When they get here they can be pleasantly surprised by the “extras” I forgot to mention, and if something breaks, well, they weren’t paying for it anyway.

It looks like a lot of people don’t read the listing anyway until they go looking for some minutiae to cry about, so in my case not listing washer, dryer, dishwasher, BBQ etc. probably won’t affect bookings.

In case of a swimming pool, though, someone with small uncontrollable children might not want to rent a place with a pool, so if you don’t mention it they might demand that you hire a lifeguard or something similarly ridiculous.

You might note that “The pool is professionally cleaned and chemically treated weekly. If bugs, leaves, frogs etc enter the pool between cleanings, guests can either use available cleaning equipment themselves or refrain from using the pool.”

And, perhaps, “Use of the pool is a privilege, not an entitlement. Guests are not being charged an additional fee for pool privileges, and if the pool is unavailable due to maintenance, weather or guest misconduct no refunds will be granted.”

Then if they decide to have a huge pool party, leave broken glass in and around the pool, or do anything else to annoy you, you can just close the gate and lock it.

I’m glad I don’t have a pool…